Things be changin around here (GOOD NEWS, do not panic)

Darling Readers,

Amy here, writing about a big freaking change to my life that I’m excited about and nervous and also yeah. It’s big. Biggy bigness.

I’m going back to work for someone else, in an office. An actual day job. I’ve accepted a contract position so that I can avoid living in a box around retirement age, which is not as far away as it was when I started Knitty 15 years ago. Taking this job will allow me to build a nest egg for my future by working for someone else (this place offers great benefits and treats contract workers very well). It’s something I’ve been thinking about doing for almost 2 years, and after applying and interviewing, someone chose me and I start next month.

The most important question you all have is this: how does this affect Knitty?

Knitty goes on as before, mostly unchanged as far as Readers are concerned. I have someone in place to code the patterns and features, though I will touch and massage every page before we go live. I’ll also continue to do all the images. Knitty will look like Knitty. If I hadn’t told you, I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t have noticed anything was different. However, hiccups happen. I hope you will be gentle on our team if they do…we’re gonna try very hard to avoid the hiccups.

Jillian‘s role is changing, too. Because she has a super-exciting new position (she’ll tell you more about that later), she will be stepping away from her role as Advertising Manager, as soon as the Deep Fall issue is published (September). Jillian has done a stellar job for so many years, but as advertising has declined, she has been earning less and less for the same amount of work. (Knitty has been subsidizing her salary in order to compensate her for this drop off, because it’s beyond her control and she deserves to be paid.)

(the best long-term easter egg in television history, imo.)

Thankfully for us all, Jillian will continue as Editor of Knittyspin, goddess of Reviews, and general inspiration and idea generator (Catalyst) for Knitty as a whole. She’s also the Managing Editor (she manages the Editor) and that aspect of her job will become more essential as I go back into an office where I’m not the boss. Those of you who deal with Knitty by email may get responses from either Jillian or me. I’ll still be here, but during weekday office hours, my brain belongs to my new employer. They’re paying for the privilege. It’s all good, man.

Advertising at Knitty has declined to a level that requires us to rethink its place on our pages. You’ll notice a change (the most minimally disruptive change, we hope) by the time the Winter issue comes out, and I’ll talk more about that in a future blog post. Once again, I want to thank our Patrons for supporting us and allowing Knitty to continue. We would not be here without them!

Kate continues in her role as Managing Technical Editor, and Ashley and Rachel are the rest of our Tech Editing team. They’re doing a great job, and we are thrilled to have them as part of our team.

Chris, our beloved Systems Administrator, is on Family Leave for the foreseeable future.

So this is all big stuff. But I need to do this. I’ve been working at home for 11 years. ELEVEN. It gets lonely here. I’m restless. Tully isn’t much help when it comes to water-cooler chat or bouncing ideas back and forth. I also think a new challenge, new environment, new people will inspire and energize me, and I could use some of that. The place I’m going to work (I’ll share here when I’m able) is a good one, the commute is minimal (easy streetcar ride) and the hours can be flexible. I’m not sure I could have found a better situation anywhere. I’m lucky. (No, it’s not Starbucks.)

I was worried about telling you all this because what would you think? Except Knitty Readers are the best, and I’m pretty sure they don’t want me living in a box either. I like to be transparent about Knitty stuff when I can, and so now you know. I’ll keep you updated as things shift about a bit behind the scenes, but mostly, you can count on Knitty continuing for many years to come, looking pretty much like the Knitty you know today (or better).

70 thoughts on “Things be changin around here (GOOD NEWS, do not panic)”

I am always glad to hear that a younger woman is looking to prepare financially for her retirement. I’ve seen others make awful mistakes, because they did not do so. Warmest congratulations,, and take good care of yourself. As usual, that takes work and courage.

aw Amy, really we’ll all be ok out here. and you know, its ok to ask us for help. there’s so much talent in the blog-o-sphere, there’s plenty of people who can help with any slack needs. congrats on the new job, do they know how famous you are?

Dear Amy, you are SO worth letting go. Your work on knitty.com is nothing short of universal. (I had to stop and think of something to compare to your work). The eight letters of thank you aren’t enough…so I will keep up my role as a patron. I hope many others will see this my way. My very best wishes to you in your “new digs”. Peace Love, Safety and Health. Uke On!

Amy, I’m really glad you’re taking an honest look at your life, Knitty, our Patreon perks, the whole shebang, and doing what’s best for YOU. As many have already said, we’re here to support Knitty, and that means we’re here to support YOU!

Congrats and best wishes on the new job, and hugs all around to you and the Knitty staff. <3

Knitty is such an important and well-loved part of the knitting community and can’t say how much I appreciate your part in making that happen. A retired person now at one point I also got serious about saving and managed to save a fair amount given that I was middle-aged when I started. Making your future security a top priority is absolutely the right thing to do.